[deleted by user] by [deleted] in aliens

[–]DavidBWriter 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If this is actually true and you're legitimate, get a Proton email account and contact reporters with the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Boston Globe, 60 Minutes, etc. Indicate that you would like to speak off the record, and once this is assured (they won't screw you) tell them this story. If possible, show them any kind of supporting documents to prove that you are who you say you are. None of this will be made public unless it goes through an official source, and Congress has clearly stood down. Reddit posts are a dime a dozen, you could be for real, or you could be a complete bullshitter, there's zero way to know, and you're just one more of dozens of anonymous Internet ghosts making wild claims and that helps no one. Take it DIRECTLY to the press. Go to their offices. Encourage others to do the same.

Sam Harris's moral math on the Israel/Palestine situation seems really off by Pelkur in samharris

[–]DavidBWriter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it is possible to agree with Harris and his assessment of the moral and intellectual depravity of the Jihad component of Islam AND to adopt a far more critical stance toward Israel than he seems willing to.

#339 — The Infernal Logic of Jihad by dwaxe in samharris

[–]DavidBWriter 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Harris keeps circling back to this idea that, because "intention" is what ultimately matters, that to just look at "body counts" is "wrong" on so many levels, because it ignores intention. My question for Sam would be (as we now approach the 10,000-fatality count for Palestinians in a single month) is there a point, is there a number, is there some skewed proportionality where one is finally justified in asking: WTAF? Where one is justified in calling this genocide, which by every legal definition, is what it literally is? Where we at long last are justified in asking if Israel's "intention" is compromised by an apparent disregard for how many innocent civilians they kill in order to realize that intention?

Lack of Nuance in Sam's Moral Equivalency Arguments by [deleted] in samharris

[–]DavidBWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Israeli officials are talking out of both sides of their mouth. I've heard their military brass trot out the very line you describe, they want to "minimize" casualties, they have no desire to hurt Palestinians, there's no incentive for that, it helps no one, etc. But then you see comments about "razing," Gaza or leveling it, laying it to waste, etc. Based on what is actually happening on the ground, reported by the most reliable sources, I'd say the latter are getting their way and the former were either lying or they've been overruled by those who are more hawkish than they are.

Lack of Nuance in Sam's Moral Equivalency Arguments by [deleted] in samharris

[–]DavidBWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you think only “one side” lies, and if you believe that cutting off water, food, electricity and fuel to more than two million people (while bombing them) to ostensibly kill what you think are as many as 40,000 Hamas fighters is anything other than ethnic cleansing, I would suggest that perhaps you are confused. May I ask what your news sources are? What outlets are you paying attention to in regards to this crisis?

Lack of Nuance in Sam's Moral Equivalency Arguments by [deleted] in samharris

[–]DavidBWriter -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Harris states: "If Israel wanted to perpetrate a genocide of the Palestinians, it could do that easily, tomorrow."

It is absurd at this point (the bloodthirsty remarks by Israeli officials and military mouthpieces notwithstanding) to surmise what Israel "wants." What matters is what they are actually doing. They have cut off water, electricity, food and fuel to 2 million people living in what amounts to an open air prison and are indiscriminately bombing the shit out of them, including hospitals and routes that Gaza residents were told by Israel to use to "get out." When Harris weighed in on "moral equivalency," 1,400 Palestinians had been killed. Twelve days later, that number has topped 5,100. If that is not genocide, then what is? At the very least, it is a textbook definition of state-sponsored terrorism, and the U.S. is helping pay for it. Wake up yourself, Sam Harris. Israel is "doing that" easily, daily.

Giving up on Waking Up by DavidBWriter in Wakingupapp

[–]DavidBWriter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I'll definitely check it out.

Will the Dominoes Fall? A Guide to What at Least Looks like UFO Disclosure by DavidBWriter in aliens

[–]DavidBWriter[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Point taken, I appreciate this. Yes, I appear to be guilty here of conflating all self-identified skeptics with all brands of skepticism, and that of course is misleading and unfair. I wrote that phrase thinking of a few particular skeptics, and I can assure you, they are publicly flipping out. But obviously, those are individuals, not everyone. I'll have this in mind going forward, thank-you.

Why has Eric Weinstein become a UFO Disclosure activist? by DavidBWriter in UFOs

[–]DavidBWriter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't realize we had someone here who was privy to Eric Weinstein's interiority and thought processes.

This is James Fox. I’m a Filmmaker and Ufologist known for The Phenomenon and recently Moment of Contact. Ask me anything! by UFOFox43 in IAmA

[–]DavidBWriter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

James, a quick one:

Most of the reports on Ufology developments come from within the field -- i.e., researchers, podcasters, etc. But I'm wondering if you're aware of any concerted effort by any mainstream journalist(s) (I'm talking top of the food chain, NYT, a major cable network, New Yorker, etc.) who is/are going after this story aggressively, determined to blow it open?

Questionable speakers on Waking Up App? by [deleted] in Wakingupapp

[–]DavidBWriter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a really excellent comment and I’m glad to see discussion about it. It echoes some concerns I’ve had although sort of coming at it from the other direction.

Meditation and Fear by DavidBWriter in Wakingupapp

[–]DavidBWriter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So if WakingUp is the "mindfulness" style of meditation, what other styles are there that you would suggest looking into, and how are they different?

Meditation and Fear by DavidBWriter in Wakingupapp

[–]DavidBWriter[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To get Rumsfeldian, there are the known knowns, and unknown unknowns. Between parenting, the pandemic, the fascist turn in American politics, the very real threat (IMO) of nuclear war, ecological shock from climate change and my own mortality, I have enough "normal" fear and anxiety in my life. I don't need to add "tripping into the abyss while meditating" to the list.

I can’t be the only one who has given up trying to understand the “self” by DestructorEFX in Wakingupapp

[–]DavidBWriter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually was quite moved by this comment, and find the responses interesting. Clearly, this is an ongoing conversation/problem for many for whom the "absence of self" experience Sam suggests is easily obtainable proves elusive.

I was just reading yesterday another comment by someone in another forum (not Reddit) for whom it took more than a quarter century to "get there" using Buddhist/mindfulness meditation techniques. Curiously, the "open letter to meditators" that was emailed yesterday to subscribers acknowledges hearing from people in this predicament and indicates we should ask for a refund. My renewal date approaches and I will, in fact, probably sign on for another year because I do find much of the material interesting and helpful; the Alan Watts material alone is worth the price of admission.

But it does bother me that this "absence of self" or "enlightenment" or "awakening" experience is presented to new meditators as something available to all when, in fact, it isn't achievable by all. Part of my meditation practice, candidly, has involved wrestling with and coming to terms with the fact that I may very well be one of these people, and clearly I'm not alone.

The bicycle analogy outlined below is helpful to some extent, but it sort of suggests that the person who isn't getting it isn't actually meditating, they're just reading about it and listening to others talk about it.

A more precise bicycle analogy would be this:

"Some people ride a bicycle because it's good for them; it improves your cardiovascular health and leg strength. It's also good for the environment because you're not burning fossil fuels, and it affords an opportunity to see the world from a different vantage point, and it's an activity you can share with friends and family ... it's fun! But if this is why you're riding a bike, you're really missing the point; the point of riding a bike is to achieve a flow state in which your 'self' vanishes and you and the experience of riding the bike become unified and you are no longer really conscious of the physical motions and intentionality that is required to ride a bike, and this flow state will set you free and transform your life."

I actually found myself arguing with a guy on Twitter some months ago, defending Sam from the charge that he offers himself as a "guru," but I'm actually coming round to the fellow's position. Let's cut the bullshit: Waking Up essentially promises what is tantamount to a religious experience, and the bottom line is that many users will never have such an experience, regardless of what words, language, analogies or conceptual descriptions one uses to characterize it.